Little Poncho

This is a poncho I made for my eight-year-old niece.  The idea was taken from a pattern on lionbrand.com called Downtown Tot Poncho.  This one is worked in double crochet, with a size L hook.  It is worked in two rectangles and then seemed together and finished with double and single crochet stitches around the edges.  We purchased the hoodie to go with the poncho.  

Little Poncho

Fingerless Mittens

Why fingerless mittens?  Texting, phoning, strumming, drumming, piano playing, driving, high-five-ing, "quote, unquote -ing," coffee drinking, Pop Tart eating, and. . . oh, yes . . . knitting and crocheting :)

Below are two pairs of easy fingerless mittens.  They were very fun to make.   These were both made as flat pieces.  (I am now working on some in the round which I will share later).  These two samples are basically the same pattern size, though one involves intarsia with a cable.  

Easy Fingerless Mitten (basic pattern)

Size 10 needles
Cast on 30 stitches loosely
Row 1-4: Seed stitch (Row 1: K1, P1 across.  Row 2: Purl the knit stitches, Knit the purl stitches. Repeat )
Row 5: K across
Row 6: K2, Purl to the last two stitches, K2
Row 7: same as Row 5
Row 8: same as Row 6
(I repeated Rows 5 and 6 for approximately 7 inches from the cast on edge)
Last 5 Rows: Seed stitch
Bind off.
Sew or join the edges leaving approximately  a 1" space for the thumb.
I finished the top edges with a single crochet.

Note:  The mitten with the cable inserted is worked differently.  If you would like the detail on this, please send a comment and  I am happy to share it. I have not written it up for the blog at this time.  Also, this mitten requires you to make a left hand and a right hand version of the mitten.  

Oh, and if you are thinking that this pair looks a little funny because the colors don't match, you are right.  Variegated yarn is wonderful but...have I mentioned I'm knew at this?  In the end I decided they were cool and I liked them anyway.  

  

Chunky Basket

Happy holidays to everyone!  It is now December and I am working on a couple of Christmas gifts. But, before moving onto those, I want to share with you my second entry for a basket.  This version is much more sturdy than the basket bowls I featured in the previous post.  I used a bulky acrylic yarn, though, I would probably use a wool the next time around.

I found this pattern at Crochet in Color (crochetincolor.blogspot.com).  Liz, the creator, is a master at making these baskets and her examples are awesome, beautiful!  This is my first try and you can see that my rows are not as straight and tight as her baskets.  Something to strive towards.  So, my chunky basket actually came out a little lumpy (for those that listen to will i am ;).

Chunky Basket

Basket Bowls

I wanted to try something different and was curious about  b a s k e t s.  This is the first of two posts on two different approaches to making a basket with yarn.  Below is the Crochet Basket Bowl pattern by Kris Hopper which I found in a tutorial on YouTube.  The large one was my first experiment and I chose to use two craft yarns in brown and light green.  The smaller one is a different variation.  Both were done with two strands crocheted together and with a size N hook.  Please look up the YouTube video for instruction.

If you have any questions about how I did this please let me know.  Always happy to help clarify.  

You may be able to tell from the photos below that I love my succulents, too, and realized one of them fit perfectly in the crochet bowl.  Hope you don't mind a few extra photos.  

(Remember you can always click once on any photo in the blog and you will get an enlarged view.)

Crochet Basket Bowl

Headband with Flower

I have made this little headband with the flower for my sweet niece, Ella, and some of my younger friends.  It is so cute and you can make it in a couple of hours.  I have more pictures of this project if you would like to see how the flowers are made. I am happy to share them with you.  I have sewn a safety pin to the back of the flower so it can be moved and it can make the headband adjustable to fit the girl's head until you can sew it to the correct size.  Also, you will see that I used Paton's stretch yarn.  This worked out great for this project.  

Smidge Headband

I found this pattern at www.h3dakota.com  

Flowers

I found this pattern on YouTube at Knitting Tips with Judy.  Type in flowers and she will do a great job of walking you through it.  She is great!  

Confetti Cowl

Yet, another cowl :)  
I made a new cowl using two contrasting colors of pink and gray, which I love.  I also inserted two other pieces of yarn, different shades of the gray and pink.  This is a simple way to be creative while you are knitting and you don't need to purchase more yarn.  A thought is to see what is in your bag-o-yarn (or bathtub-o-yarn, ok, maybe you have a closet-o-yarn...I'll stop now) and add some interest to your project.  My example looks like flecks of color....kind of like confetti.

Confetti Cowl

Size 13 needles

Cast on 46 stitches
This pattern uses Garter stitches  (knit on both RS right side and WS wrong side of project) for three rows on the top and bottom edges.  
I then did a Stockinette stitch (knit on RS and purl on WS) throughout the body of the project.  

Eyelet Rows:
You can insert eyelet rows where you like.  In the middle I did two eyelet rows, which I have outlined below.  You will see that I did just the first eyelet row about a quarter of the distance from the top and then the bottom.  

Eyelet Row 1: (RS) K2, *Yo, k2tog* between * to the end, K last two stitches
Eyelet Row 2: (WS) Purl
Eyelet Row 3: (RS) K3, *Yo, k2tog* between * to the end, K last three stitches

This pattern is knit in one piece and seemed in the back to finish.

Easy Lace Scarf

Are you intimidated by lace?  I was (still am a  bit), however, this scarf is really easy and looks great!  I have made it twice and just love it.  This one is a gift I haven't even sent off yet, but wanted to share it here.  I made this one out of Bernat Bamboo yarn, color Dill.  Have you ever felt this bamboo yarn?  You won't want to put it down!  

This pattern is free on lionbrand.com and it is titled Cotton Lace Scarf.  (I have yet to make it out of cotton.)  The pattern is below.

Easy Lace Scarf

Size 8 needles (the scarf picture below was made with size 10 needles)

Cast on 23 sts.
Row 1 - (wrong side) K2, purl to last 2 sts, K2
Row 2 - K3, *yo, k1, sk2p, k1, yo,k1; rep from * to last 2 sts., k2
Row 3 - K2, purl to last 2 sts, K2
Repeat Rows 2 and 3 until desired length (about 5 feet)
I bind off on wrong side purlwise.

sk2p - slip 1 stitch, k2tog, pass slipped stitch over

Heartfelt Shawl

Welcome to October.  Even on the central coast it is getting a little cooler with the shorter days setting in.  So, with fall upon us it is a perfect time to make a shawl, throw or afghan.  The one pictured below is the Heartfelt Shawl by lionbrand.com.  I made this one for Auntie Isabelle.  This is a simple knit pattern.  I used size 10 needles  and 3 skeins of Lion Brand Homespun yarn in Painted Desert.  I like this pattern because of the subtle design.  While the changing colors of the yarn run across the shawl, can you see the lines that run the length of the shawl?  

Since this is a free pattern I am going to share it below.  

Heartfelt Shawl:

Cast on 63 stitches
Row 1: (Knit 3, purl 3) until last 3 stitches, knit 3.
Row 2: (Purl 3, knit 3) until last 3 stitches, purl 3.
Repeat these 2 rows until piece measures about 60 in. (152.5 cm) Bind off.
To finish weave in ends.

Note:  I found it helpful to think about Row 2 as actually knitting the purl stitches from Row 1 and purling the knit stitches.  

Revive Scarf

The scarf below is the Revive Scarf.  I got the pattern at Monarch Knitting and Quilts in Pacific Grove, CA on the Monterey Peninsula.  You can find them at www.monarchknitting.com.  I really like the diagonal pattern the stitches create.  I used Rowan yarn/ baby alpaca/ lima line in the color of Guatemala.  If you want to see some beautiful patterns you can find them at www.knitrowan.com.  

Thank you - to Joan from Monarch Knitting and Quilts for giving me permission to share with you the pattern for this scarf.  Enjoy.

Revive Scarf:

3 balls of Rowan Revive (50g/109yrds. per skein)
Size 6 needles
Cast on 35 stitches.  (I made my scarf more narrow and cast on 27 stitches)

Repeat these 4 rows-
Row 1 - K3, *K2tog, YO* Repeat between *s to last 4 stitches, K4
Row 2 - Purl
Row 3 - K2, *K2tog, YO* Repeat between *s to last 3 stitches, K3
Row 4 - Purl

Repeat these rows until you have desired length.  End with row 3.  Bind off all stitches Purlwise.
*For best results block scarf to open up the lace and to make it less curly on edges.
*For Fringe - When you are about to use your 3rd ball cut your fringes first so you don't run out.  Cut 108 12" strands.  Hold 3 strands together for each fringe.  Attach fringe using a crochet hook to form half hitch knots on ends. Put 18 fringe on each end.  

Brisbane Scarf

Fall is, for sure, scarf weather!  The two scarves below are from a wonderful pattern which can be found on lionbrand.com.  It is a free knit pattern call Brisbane Scarf.  It works up quickly with size 13 needles and is a ribbed pattern alternating knit and purl stitches.  So easy and is very soft!  This one I made for my brother-in-law. 

Here you go, if you want to get started.

Brisbane Scarf:

2 balls (I used Loops & Threads Charisma, 100g/109 yrds)
Size 13 needles

Cast on 19 stitches (I cast on 23)
Row 1 - (RS) K3, *p1, k3* Repeat between * to end of row.
Row 2 - K1 *p1, k3* Repeat between * to last 2 sts., p1, k1.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until desired length.  Bind off.

I wanted to add fringe to the scarf I made for my friend, Therese.  I decided to knot the ends of my fringe with this yarn so it would not fray too much.  To add visual interest when it is wrapped around the neck, either from the front or the back depending on how it is worn, I had the idea to add fringe on an angle in the middle of the scarf.  Hopefully the photos below help to make sense of that last sentence :).